The 2012 series featured 25 concerts and 12 sellouts, moving 89 percent of its available tickets, totaling 42,477 admissions. Although the percentage was down a few points this year, Meijer Gardens president David Hooker said their goal, getting more people through the gates than ever, was met.

“Live concerts and music fit right into our mission of promoting our three arts: horticulture, sculpture and the natural environment,” Hooker said. “I’m sure last night, we had Indigo Girls fans here who didn’t know us, and wondered, ‘What’s this place all about?’”

The 2013 lineup boasted some of the biggest names in the series’ 11-year history, including first-time visits by Sheryl Crow and Harry Connick, Jr., tickets for which sold out within 15 minutes of the April presale for Gardens members. Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion, Steve Martin and Steep Canyon Rangers, Umphrey’s McGee, Grace Potter, Steve Miller Band and Lyle Lovett sold out return engagements, and first-timers Owl City also played to a capacity crowd. The venue can accommodate 1,900 people.

The series originally was supposed to number 30 shows, but Dwight Yoakam canceled his date due to a scheduling conflict. The only other speed bump the series hit was Motown star Smokey Robinson, who rescheduled his June date to August due to illness.

In 2012, Hooker said 25 shows was likely the ceiling for the number of national acts the facility can accommodate. But “more artists said yes (to our offers) than we thought, and we embraced that,” he said.

Additionally, the nine Tuesday Evening Music Club shows, which featured local and regional acts weekly during July and August, totaled 12,626 admissions. A record 2,200 attendees came in and out of the venue on Aug. 20 for performances by The Soil and the Sun and Afro Zuma. It drew 13,271 in 2012.

Hooker said the Tuesday-night tradition will continue next year, as well.

“We’re very committed to it,” he said.

John Serba is film critic and entertainment reporter for MLive and The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at jserba@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.